India's palace hotels are living links to the era of the maharajahs, the 200 years prior to independence when semi-autonomous princes ruled much of the country. The best-known are in the state of Rajasthan, southwest of Delhi. But in the current economic boom, new areas are on the rise.
India's palace hotels are incomparably grand and atmospheric. I vividly remember my first visit to Rajasthan, wandering awestruck through vast ceremonial halls beneath stupendous crystal chandeliers. From the walls, life-size portraits of bejeweled potentates gazed sternly down.